Beginners guide to card shuffling and how to do card tricks

Welcome to the Ladbrokes guide to shuffling like a pro! These tips and tricks are ideal for anyone who wants to play blackjack at home, breaking out the cards for a casual game with their friends. When combined with our awesome chip tricks and the knowledge you'll pick up at the Ladbrokes Blackjack Academy, you'll be ready to take to the tables in style. Just remember that you can't do these card tricks at the table at a real casino – the croupiers really don't like it when you touch the cards!

Casino card shuffling

When it comes to looking like a pro, there are few things that set you apart from the crowd quite like the way you shuffle your cards. If you ask 10 different people to each shuffle a fresh pack of cards, you're going to find that some of those decks are better-shuffled than others, with some decks having several runs of continuous cards. These woefully under-shuffled decks are exactly what you need to avoid if you want your games to be as much fun as possible – believe it or not, there is a proper way to shuffle cards at the casino, and a quick pile shuffle doesn't cut it. If you want to look like you know what you're going, you need to know how to shuffle cards like a pro. Here's a handy guide showing you exactly what you need to do if you want to look like you know what you're doing when it'd your turn to deal.

1. Place the deck horizontally and face down on the table in front of you.

2. Cut the deck roughly 70:30 with your right hand, splitting the deck into two piles.

3. Riffle shuffle the two piles together, pushing the cards back into a single deck.

4. Cut the deck with your right hand again, this splitting the deck 50:50.

5. Riffle shuffle the two piles together, pushing the cards back into a single deck.

6. Repeat Steps 4 and 5.

7. Pick up the deck with your left hand, and pull sections of the deck from the bottom. Stack these cards on the table below until you run out of cards in your hand.

8. Tidy the pile, and repeat Step 7.

9. Cut the deck 50:50 and riffle shuffle one last time.

10. Cut the deck, and place the top half on a plastic Cut card. Place the top half on top of this, and get ready to deal!

If you follow these steps in shuffling your cards, you're going to be left with a stack of cards that's ready for just about any game you want to play. Be careful that you don't over-shuffle the deck though, or you may find that your carefully shuffled cards may start falling back into order!

Card tricks to impress your friends

Of course, being able to shuffle cards properly won't impress everyone. There are those out there who believe that that is the bare minimum that you should be able to do. If that's the case, here are two simple card tricks you can have under your belt which, with a little practice will have you looking like a pro in no time at all.

The spread

This card trick is surprisingly easy to do, and a great way of showing someone that you have a standard 52-card deck to hand. On top of this, it's fun to do and it looks great when pulled off properly.

1. Place your deck face down on the table or cloth.

2. Place your right palm over the top of the deck and press down gently with the right half of your hand.

3. Slide your hand to the right, dragging the cards with you in an arc.

4. Once the cards are fanned out, left your hand away from the deck, revealing the cards.

5. Place the back of the fingers of your right hand on the cards, roughly one third of the way into the arc.

6. Hook middle finger of your left hand under the left of the arc and lift the card to flip it. Move your right hand away, but keep your left hand touching the cards.

7. Move your right hand to catch the last card as the deck flips back over.

8. Slide your right hand back towards your left to pick up the now-concealed deck.

Of course, revealing the order of the cards means that you have to shuffle the deck once more – see the tips at the top of this page to shuffle your deck like a pro!

The roll

This trick is something which you can do to keep your hands busy as you talk to people, as you wait for people to sit down at the table to make up a full complement of players or simply just to look cool before shuffling the deck. Most people have seen the trick where people make the deck jump from one hand to the other – this is a nice alternative which is quite satisfying to pull off.

1. Hold the deck in your left hand, upright but face down. Ensure that the deck is in a neat pile using your right hand,

2. Move your left hand down so that your index and middle finger hold the deck halfway down. Lift your thumb away from the cards just enough so that they have room to slide.

3. Using the middle and index finger of your right hand, slide the cards to the right and press the corner down to make the cards bend slightly.

4. Twist your hand to move your fingers and wrists together, bending the top of deck so that it curls towards your left hand.

5. As you loosen your grip with your left hand, the cards will spring from your right to your left hand. The more pressure you apply, the more the cards will bend and the quicker the cards will jump.

Just like our chip tricks tips, this trick will require a little practice until you can get the cards moving smoothly from hand to hand. As you practice, try varying how tightly you grip the cards and how much pressure you apply to the cards to make them bend. While you aren't exactly revealing the cards because of the speed with which they move, it is wise to shuffle them properly once you're done, before you play your next game at Ladbrokes Casino.